


Defenceless

by tomlindone28



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Dancer Yamaguchi, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Insecure Yamaguchi Tadashi, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Protective Tsukishima Kei, Roommates, Soft Boys, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukishima doesn't know Yamaguchi is a dancer, Tsukishima is neurodivergent, Tsukishima is really smart but really dumb, Tsukishima studies scientific computing, Yamaguchi needs a tutor, college students, yamaguchi is oblivious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27590381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlindone28/pseuds/tomlindone28
Summary: Kei Tsukishima always prided himself on his intellect and acute sense of awareness. He was known to notice even the smallest changes and adapt almost instantly.Which is why it baffles him when he can't recall the shift that made him start regarding his best friend as something more.When did he start listening intently to Yamaguchi's rambling through his headphones?When did he start comparing the boy's scattered freckles to constellations?When did he realize that Yamaguchi was elegant?When did he get so cool?When did he fall in love with the same Tadashi Yamaguchi that he had known since childhood?
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Defenceless

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I came up with this plot while listening to "Defenceless" by Louis Tomlinson and decided to write it 'cause Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are my comfort ship and I rarely see any love for them. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, please leave your thoughts it motivates me to continue writing!  
> Feel free to follow me on Instagram or Twitter @kaypability or TikTok @kaylablity, loads of love!  
> ~Kayla

Tadashi Yamaguchi hated math with a passion.  
He could never seem to fully grasp the concept and it quite simply irked him. He had always easily excelled at every other academic subject in school, but his lack of understanding towards math made all of his other successes feel insignificant.  
Deep down he knew that he wasn't dumb, but his poor relationship with math made him feel like such a failure in comparison to all of his other classmates.  
Yamaguchi struggled with basic math and he hated himself for it.

If it weren't for all of his restless nights spent studying tediously, Yamaguchi knew more than likely that he would've failed his final year of high school. He had too much pride to ask for help so he toughed it out by himself instead and barely met the necessary criteria as a result.

It was inabilities like these that made Yamaguchi envy Kei Tsukishima.  
Kei Tsukishima, who was naturally gifted in all areas of academics.  
Tsukishima was the type of student who could finish his homework nearly as soon as he got it, not study for a test and still end up with one of the highest marks, all while somehow managing to get a full night's rest. 

If Yamaguchi hadn't had the opportunity to get to know Tsukishima personally, he honestly might have hated him.  
But, Yamaguchi was lucky.  
Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had history together, well maybe not the subject itself but their past.

Yamaguchi vividly remembers meeting Tsukishima in primary school, the quiet blonde kid with bulky headphones that seemed to never leave his presence even though they were prohibited during school hours. Yamaguchi did his best not to stare back then, but he was always a curious child. The first time he had accidentally locked eyes with Tsukishima was while he was walking home from school and passing the local park, he had been minding his business and trying to avoid stepping on any of the cracks in the sidewalk when he unfortunately bumped into not only one but three of his bullies. 

Yamaguchi had grown accustomed to their constant name calling even though it stung, but he never would've expected them to grow physically violent. However, they did.

"Your face is so freckly, Tadashi!" A kid in a striped shirt had exclaimed, encouraging the two others to join in on the taunting.

"Why are you so wimpy?" A slightly more broad kid teased. A firm force then met Yamaguchi's shoulders, the weight of his backpack making him lose his balance and collapse on the hard concrete beneath him. 

"You need to train your body, so you're in charge of carrying the bags!" A black haired bully adds before throwing his backpack directly at Yamaguchi's face. Yamaguchi lets out a gasp upon impact, instantly tearing up and whimpering softly.

"Seriously? You're crying? He cries over everything!" One of them laughs, Yamaguchi not caring who said what at this point. It all hurt the same.

"Crybaby!" They continue, purposefully poking at Yamaguchi's already festering wounds.

Yamaguchi sniffles and glances up at his attackers, wanting nothing more than to have the confidence to ask them why they were being so mean to him over something he couldn't instantly change about himself.  
He hated his freckles too, he wanted to build up muscle and get taller too, he wanted to stop being so sensitive too... So why did they have to point out the obvious?

Yamaguchi tries to lift himself up from the ground but instead halts in his tracks and stares past his tormentors in surprise, noticing his classmate Tsukishima passing by the scene with an unreadable expression as they locked eyes.

The boys follow Yamaguchi's gaze in confusion and set their own on the tall witness.

"Whatcha looking at?" The dark haired kid asks defensively.

"Hey, isn't he a sixth year?" Someone whispers, obviously basing that assumption on Tsukishima's height.

"No way. That's someone from Class 3." Another voice clarifies, Yamaguchi doesn't bother checking who because his watery eyes are focused on the blonde.

Tsukishima smiles smugly, "That's so uncool." He states mockingly and starts to walk away as if nothing happened.  
Everyone else, Yamaguchi included, are left momentarily dumbfounded. It doesn't last long however, because the dark haired bully runs after Tsukishima yelling, "What'd you mean? Hey, wait a sec!" 

Tsukishima turns around and towers over the kid instantly, "What?" He asks harshly, causing said bully to instinctively back away out of intimidation.

"Y-You're lame, four-eyes! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" The kid manages to say before running away to save his own skin and not looking back even as his friends start chasing after him.

The blonde laughs to himself in clear amusement as they disappear, glancing at Yamaguchi and then composing himself as usual. Yamaguchi watches in awe as Tsukishima leaves without another word.

Yamaguchi releases a deep breath and instantly starts hitting his own forehead when he realizes that he forgot to thank his savior. He had been too enthralled by how Tsukishima had handled the situation to think of much else. For all he knew, Tsukishima might've even been making fun of how uncool Yamaguchi was for getting beaten up rather than the bullies being uncool for bullying someone as frail as Yamaguchi.  
Nonetheless, he stood up to the menaces and Yamaguchi envied his ability to do so. 

The weekend had passed swiftly and by some coincidence, the first thing his math teacher did was assign partner assignments and paired the two of them up to finish an in-class worksheet full of fifty math problems. The teacher allows everyone five minutes to locate their partners and quickly get acquainted. Yamaguchi heads towards the empty seat beside Tsukishima prepared to avoid conflict as usual, but he remembers that he had yet to thank him for his help yesterday and instead stands in front of Tsukishima's desk.

"Ah um... Thank you for the other day." Yamaguchi bows in thanks, Tsukishima's eyes widen in shock before relaxing.

"Have we met?" Tsukishima asks.

Yamaguchi feels his heart shudder. Tsukishima had already forgotten him? It had only been 2 days!

"Th-The o-other day a-at the park..." Yamaguchi reminds him, fidgeting awkwardly upon finding out that the incident had meant far less to Tsukishima than it did to Yamaguchi.

"Oh right, the park. Are you going to sit down and finish this assignment with me or do you prefer standing?" Tsukishima asks monotonously.

"Sorry Tsukki!" Yamaguchi apologizes, rushing to sit down and start looking at the equations.

"Tsukki?" The blonde frowns at the nickname.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, let's just finish this worksheet." Tsukishima interrupts. "I'll do the first twenty-five questions, you do the last twenty-five and we should finish fast." He decides.

"U-Uh yeah, that works!” Yamaguchi agrees, glancing down at his worksheet and praying that he would suddenly be able to solve problems without looking like an idiot in front of someone he found so cool and smart.

Yamaguchi solves the first five questions with ease and then freezes on the sixth, trying to understand the gibberish that was laid out before him. He decides to skip it and look at the next question only to be met with the same lack of comprehension.  
He can feel a lump forming in his throat as he struggles to understand several more of the problems. He continues and manages to answer about ten more to the best of his ability, he risks a glance at Tsukishima only to realize that the boy is already looking at him in concern.

"Do you want help?" Tsukishima offers, not condescendingly but definitely not what Yamaguchi wanted to hear right now.

"No. If I don't figure it out by the end of class, I'll be sure to let the teacher know that I deserve the poor grade alone." Yamaguchi chokes out, discretely wiping the tears of frustration that have begun to cascade down his cheeks.

"Suit yourself." Tsukishima sighs, grabbing the worksheet from Yamaguchi anyways.

"Hey!" Yamaguchi protested, watching in annoyance as Tsukishima easily corrected Yamaguchi's errors and solved the remaining questions. He then stapled their papers together and turned them in to the teacher while Yamaguchi got on his feet to tell the teacher that only Tsukishima deserved credit, but before he could Tsukishima returned and gave him a warning look.

"You're not getting reprimanded for something as small as this when your reading is at a high school level. You're not dumb, you're just better at other things." Tsukishima explained, putting his headphones on and closing his eyes. 

Yamaguchi is left speechless, curious about how Tsukishima even knew his reading level and amazed by his intellectual ability to carry his and Yamaguchi's weight all at once. 

Yes, Yamaguchi knew he was lucky to have met Tsukishima when he did. Because, Tsukishima always had the answers he needed.

Even as teenagers, Yamaguchi stuck to Tsukishima's side like glue. He didn't know how long it would be until Tsukishima inevitably got tired of keeping him around, he valued his friendship with him so did his best to avoid being a burden. He was surprised that he had been perceived as tolerable enough for Tsukishima to spend the majority of his time with. 

Tsukishima excelled in volleyball as a middle blocker and Debate club President, while Yamaguchi joined the editorial group for the school’s newspaper and played the trombone in band.  
Yamaguchi had spent those years watching Tsukishima consistently get swarmed by fangirls after his games, he had learned to just pack up his instrument and turn away from the scene to avoid getting his feelings hurt.

He had discovered that his feelings for Tsukishima were anything but platonic fairly early in their friendship, but brushed the hopeless fantasies away because he knew that if Tsukishima could have anyone he wanted, it would never be him.

Yamaguchi had grown accustomed to only being approached by girls when they had the usual request of, “Give this to Tsukishima.” He knew that he would never be seen as attractive compared to Tsukishima, so he didn’t take it to heart when they asked him to deliver their love letters or chocolates like some sort of servant.

He couldn’t blame them, if he could he would pick Tsukishima too.

But, he didn’t have that option so Yamaguchi let Tsukishima relish in the spotlight while he prepared to be left in the shadows.

As graduation approached Yamaguchi quickly decided that he wouldn't pursue any career paths that dealt heavily with mathematics to avoid further struggle so he turned down several options for scholarships and grants. He had no idea if Tsukishima would still be his friend after graduating, but he still wanted to study abroad like he and Tsukishima had dreamt about as children, which is why along with sending in his application for New York University he applied to The Juilliard School private performing arts conservatory despite his parents desperately wanting him to study accounting locally like they had.

Although they weren't initially thrilled about his choice, they both had always supported Yamaguchi's hobbies and trusted that he wouldn't seriously pursue anything if he wasn't extremely good at it.  
And his parents were fully aware that if there was one thing Yamaguchi was incredible at, it was dancing.

The desire to dance had always come naturally to Yamaguchi and his parents had allowed and paid for him to take lessons from an early age as a reward for doing so well in his academics. They had no idea that he would grow to love the art enough to keep his grades high enough to continue said lessons. They couldn't have foreseen the instructors giving Yamaguchi multiple leads and solos at competitions. They never predicted Yamaguchi winning champion titles as he progressed.  
But, they watched it happen rapidly before them and were awestruck.

At the time they had refrained from posting anything about Yamaguchi’s dance based successes on social media in order to prevent their son from being bullied for partaking in what most considered a girl’s sport. But, Yamaguchi was approaching adulthood and if he was willing to endure the inevitable backlash and he wanted to try and make a name for himself, who were they to stop him after encouraging this talent of his in secret for so long?

Yamaguchi knew that if he didn't utilize this ability that he'd eventually lose his chance, so he intended to make the most of his dancing and attempt to get a bachelor’s degree to teach choreography and aim to open his own studio in the future.

He hadn’t thought to mention any of this to Tsukishima at the time, because he had always assumed that college would be the breaking point for their friendship. What good would it do to suddenly say, “Oh Tsukki, by the way I’ve secretly been taking dance lessons since I was a kid and I’m going to pursue it as a career ‘cause I don’t have any other worthwhile talents. Enjoy your life, bye!” That would probably be enough for Tsukishima to pretend that Yamaguchi had never even existed.

That’s why Yamaguchi was startled when Tsukishima had caught up to him outside before he could board the bus home after his final volleyball game, still sweaty from the match and wiping the back of his neck with a small white towel. Yamaguchi had set his trombone case down to ask if Tsukishima was alright, but Tsukishima had only just caught his breath and was now grinning widely.

“Yams I got in! NYU! They emailed me, I got in! I’m actually studying abroad!” With that he wraps his arms around him and lifts Yamaguchi in the air in excitement, Yamaguchi ignores his initial shock of being lifted and allows himself to squeal and congratulate Tsukishima upon being set back on his feet.

“Oh my God, you did it Tsukki!” Yamaguchi exclaims proudly, ignoring all of the weird looks that they were getting. 

“Check your email too, they probably sent out acceptance notices at the same time and we didn’t see them because of the game!” 

Yamaguchi can’t help but smile, Tsukishima sounded so giddy right now it was so out of character of him. This truly must feel like a dream come true for him.

“Probably! Wait here a second, okay? I left my phone on the bus.” Yamaguchi grabs his bag, running onto the school bus to retrieve his phone. 

He’s instantly met with wolf whistles from some of the other band kids, his friend Yachi in particular grabbing his shoulders and asking if Tsukishima had suddenly just confessed his undying love for him.

“Of course not!” Yamaguchi laughs, finding his book bag and grabbing his phone while the tuba players loaded their instruments onto the back of the bus. Great, he still had some time before they had to leave.

“Then why’d he lift you into his arms all movie-like?” Yachi asks, peering over Yamaguchi’s shoulder as he logged into his email account.

“Because, he got accepted into NYU.” Yamaguchi explains, still smiling at the thought of Tsukishima’s childhood dream turning into a reality.

“That’s amazing! Why’d you leave him waiting out there for you though?” Yachi asks out of curiosity.

“Because, I applied there too and he wants to know if I got in as well-OH MY GOD!” Yamaguchi gasps, hand flying to cover his mouth upon searching his inbox.

“I’m guessing you got in?” Yachi giggles, looking over Yamaguchi’s shoulder yet again to confirm her assumption only to gasp just as loud.

“Pinch me, this can’t be real-OW! Oh shit, it’s real.” Yamaguchi exhales, his hand trembling as he reads over the two emails yet again.

To: Tadashi Yamaguchi  
From: New York University  
Subject: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted…

To: Tadashi Yamaguchi  
From: The Juilliard School  
Subject: We were thoroughly impressed by your virtual audition and would like to invite you to an in-person call back. We believe you have immense potential and…

This can’t be happening.


End file.
